Student voices

[Carol Holst <kceh@AIRMAIL.NET>]

Here is an exerpt from a project located at the following address:
http://comppile.tamucc.edu/TAAS/responses/TAAS06.htm
This is very powerful information, in my opinion.

06-104

I really have to say that I think that the TAAS essay was a rather
damaging one. It was a paper that required absolutely no critical
thinking whatsoever. The paper was easy
for me to write in part, because it followed a specific formula (the 14
line elaborated paragraph) but, it was also hard for me to do because of
the fact that you had to have
elaboration. I?m good at bs-ing, but the bs didn?t always pertain to the
paragraph, if you know what I mean. I always thought preparation for
these things had to be the
most mundane activity, writing the same paper over and over and over
again. And then, writing another one! I would always get the ?write a
letter to your school principal
convincing them to add or remove such and such from your school? prompt,
and I always thought I did well on them, but when I got the scores back,
I never got higher
than a 3. In fact, it took me 10 years to get a 3 on a TAAS Writing
Prompt. I have to give all the credit to my sophomore english teacher,
Ms. [X], because she inspired
me to be a better writer, and put it out in plain english, how to write
the bullshit I had to. Overall, it was a rather bad education experience
for me, and I?d have to say it
damaged my critical thinking. But, as the French say, ?C?est la vie!?
--
See you at The Soapbox!

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